US group: Put Alibaba site back on 'notorious' fakes list

Alibaba, which powers four-fifths of all online commerce conducted in the world's second-largest economy, is expected to raise upward of $15 billion and potentially surpass the $16 billion that Facebook Inc managed in 2012. IHONG KONG: A clothing and footwear industry group is calling for the US government to put Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba's Taobao site back on its list of "Notorious Markets" for counterfeit goods.

The American Apparel and Footwear Association said in a statement Tuesday that "counterfeits remain rampant" on Taobao three years after it was taken off the list.

The group urged the US Trade Representative to return Alibaba to the list of online and physical marketplaces that reportedly engage in or facilitate substantial copyright piracy and trademark counterfeiting.

Fakes have been a long-running problem for Alibaba. Taobao was first added to the list in 2011 and removed a year later after the company worked with trademark owners to clean up the site.